


You're the One That I Want

by JackEPeace



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AUs!, F/F, Grease is the word, musical AUs that turn into high school AUs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-06 21:38:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4237569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackEPeace/pseuds/JackEPeace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Obviously what happened between the two of them over the summer was exactly that: a summer fling. Maybe now…now they’re just be nothing to one another and Jemma can write Skye down as a first love and a lesson learned. (Skimmons Grease AU because thanks tumblr!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're the One That I Want

**Author's Note:**

> I received a prompt on tumblr asking for a Grease AU and I hope that I did the idea justice! There are a lot of different directions I could have gone with this but...this is the best I could do! In some small part, this story was also inspired/influenced by the gif set of a Grease AU with Taylor Swift and Kirsten Stewart. This story is also for justkissme-snowly on tumblr because she asked for the idea as well!

Jemma Simmons has spent a lot of time thinking about kissing girls. It's a secret she keeps hidden beneath her ribs, something to take out and turn over in her hands in between classes or when she finds herself day-dreaming in class. But not nearly as important, or so she tells herself, as focusing on her grades and excelling in her academics.

But it's summer; there are no studies to focus on now.

Though, of course, Jemma has a thick book by Dr. Jane Foster spread out across her thighs as she makes herself comfortable underneath the beach umbrella that her parents carried down from their condo several hours ago. Her father is currently walking along the water's edge, yelling into his cell phone and gesturing with his hands and her mother is back at the condo, preparing lunch with Jemma's younger brother, leaving Jemma blessedly alone with her book and the sound of the waves for the time being.

She looks up from her book in time to see a beautiful tan colored dog go running past her, barking in glee. Jemma glances over her shoulder, looking for the person who belongs with the dog; dogs aren't really allowed on the beach but she's hardly going to go tell the lifeguard.

Especially when she sees the girl trailing after the dog, dressed in cut off shorts and a tank top that hangs loose enough to reveal the bikini beneath. Her hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail, her eyes hidden by round black sunglasses and her feet are bare, unbothered by the hot sand between her toes. Jemma quickly ducks her head back toward her book before the other girl can realize that she's being watched. Unfortunately Dr. Foster's research on time travel holds no interest anymore.

Jemma watches as the girl picks up a stick and throws it for the dog, laughing as the dog grabs the stick and then streaks right past her, running in the opposite direction. It takes her a while to wrestle the stick back and then she throws it again. Jemma feels like she can't pull her eyes away from her, feeling a lot like she does during gym class when Kate Bishop stands on her tiptoes and pulls her arm back to serve the volleyball.

In a way, it's a bit of relief when the dog finally goes completely rogue and charges in Jemma's direction, grinning happily around the stick and spraying sand all over her towel and book. He drops the stick beside her, wagging his tail happily.

Jemma uses one hand to stroke him between the eyes as she attempts to brush sand off her lap and book with the other.

"Steve! What the hell!" The girl is jogging over in their direction, an annoyed expression on her face. "I'm so sorry. He's a monster."

Jemma laughs, peering up at the girl. She's even prettier up close.

She's a lost cause.

"It's okay." Jemma assures her, scratching the dog between his shoulder blades. His tongue lolls out and he sits down, seeming perfectly content. "I don't mind."

She's surprised when the girl plops down beside her dog, leaning half under the shade of the umbrella, stretching her legs out and burying her toes in the sand. "He's normally not so embarrassing." She says with a shrug, shoving the dog playfully. Steve rolls over, thumping his tail. "Sorry he got sand all over your stuff."

Jemma shrugs. "We're at the beach."

Even though she meant it to be completely serious and logical, the girl laughs and Jemma feels a surge of heat in her chest, pleased with herself. "I'm Jemma." She blurts out because it seems like as good a time as any. Maybe if she can keep this girl talking then she can delay the inevitable separation.

"Skye." The girl returns, pushing her sunglasses up so that Jemma can see her face. "That is a big book." She tilts her chin toward Dr. Foster's tome.

Jemma glances toward the pages, still covered with sand. She brushes her hand across them. "Aren't you supposed to read at the beach? And relax?"

"I don't think you're supposed to do homework at the beach." Skye replies, getting to her feet. Jemma feels a stab of disappointment. "Come on."

"Where?" Jemma questions, even though she realizes that it really doesn't matter.

"We're at the beach, as you so brilliantly pointed out." Skye tells her. "So let's actually do some beach stuff. Take a break from your relaxing reading."

Jemma gets to her feet, grabbing the overlarge tee-shirt that she's been using as a cover-up and pulling it over her head. She pulls on her flip-flops, ducking under the umbrella to come join Skye in the sun.

It takes only about five minutes of walking along the water's edge with Skye and Steve the dog before Jemma finds herself starting to think about what it would be like to kiss her. She can't figure out if it's that thought or the sun or Skye right beside her that suddenly makes her feel like she's burning up from the inside out.

*~*~*~*~*~*

After that moment, they seem to spend every minute of their vacation time together. Skye has been at the beach with her foster parents for only a few days longer than Jemma's family and is obviously relieved to have someone to spend her time with other than Steve. Not that Jemma is complaining. She knows that her parents wanted this vacation in order to increase "family time" after the pressure of her father's new job and recent job transfer but spending time with Skye is a definite improvement over forced family togetherness.

They spend their days wandering down toward the little marina by the pier and walking to the touristy shops and restaurants in what can loosely be considered a town. Even though the days seem to blur in to one another, each one filled with heat and lounging out in the sun and cooling off in the ocean, Jemma is pretty sure that she's never enjoyed herself more.

Skye always seems to know exactly what to say to make her laugh, seeming to make it her personal mission to do that as much as possible. She doesn't seem to mind when Jemma starts talking about her classes or the fact that she's going to soon be going to a new school thanks to her father's ridiculously indecisive bosses. She doesn't seem to mind listening to Jemma talk at all, which is a bit of a refreshing change. It doesn't take Jemma long to realize that this is mostly so she can avoid talking about herself, though Skye seems more comfortable with letting information about herself slip out during their shell-collecting walks.

Despite Jemma's best protests, Skye manages to convince her to go out bowling one evening. "It's pretty much the only source of entertainment around here, if you haven't noticed." She points out as Jemma tries to argue for doing something else.

Jemma rolls her eyes. "If you can even call it entertainment." She argues. "I'm terrible at bowling."

Skye shrugs. "So I'll show you how to bowl." She grabs Jemma's hand as though that will somehow make her argument more convincing. "Come on Jemma, it'll be fun." She wheedles.

Jemma makes a big show of protesting but she feels like she's pretty much lost the argument.

Bowling isn't as terrible as Jemma had originally imagined, though she has a feeling it's only because of the company. The bowling alley still looks like it belongs in the 1950's, though she can't quite tell if that's purposeful or not. But, true to her word, Skye does her best to try and teach Jemma how to bowl appropriately and the grin on her face is almost as big as Jemma's when she finally manages to bowl a strike. Jemma lets out a little squeak of excitement, throwing her arms around Skye in order to further cement her victory. Having Skye wrap her arms around her is even better than the strike.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Skye questions after they've left the bowling alley and are lazily starting their way back home.

Jemma shrugs mostly because she's feeling particularly stubborn. "No, I suppose not." She admits finally, giving Skye a reluctant smile.

The moon is bright overhead, reflecting across the ocean as it laps against the shore. Neither of them are dressed for the water so they're safely out of reach of the tide, making their way across the sand dunes. Skye loses her footing as they walk and Jemma reaches out to steady her, letting her hand linger against her waist. Not that Skye seems to mind.

They reach the pier, the halfway marker to Jemma's condo and she feels disappointment start to settle in. It's one of those nights that you wish you could hold onto forever, that you hope never fades in your memories despite the number of wonderful and perfect days to come. Jemma slows her pace, feeling foolish even as she does it. After all, they still have tomorrow and the next day and the next. But Skye doesn't seem to mind slowing down.

Jemma glances toward the ocean, nearly invisible in the perfect darkness. "Did you know that scientists have only explored a small percent of the world's oceans?" She says. "Can you imagine what is still left to discover? What might be lurking just below the waters and we've barely scratched the surface."

When Jemma looks over at Skye, there's a little half smile on her face, something in her eyes that Jemma can't quite decipher. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm not looking at you like anything." Skye protests, but her smile suggests otherwise. "I just wish I knew as much about everything as you do."

Blushing, Jemma looks away again. "I don't know about everything. I mean, it would be impossible to know about everything…"

When she looks back, Skye leans in to kiss her, pulling her in close. Jemma sighs against her mouth, a rush of excitement and relief spreading through her. Finally. She was tired of just thinking about it, about hoping that Skye wanted to kiss her too. It's perfect and Jemma wants to freeze this moment even more now. She wants to hold onto it forever and never let it end.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The next three weeks pass by in even more of a blur and Jemma is pretty sure that she's never been quite this happy in all her seventeen years. Spending time with Skye has quickly become her favorite thing to do, regardless of whether they're sharing companionable silence spread out on beach towels or are sneaking off under the pretense of getting ice cream to kiss under the pier.

So it only makes sense that it would all come to an end.

Jemma knew this day was going to come, that it was an inevitability from the get go. After all, summer doesn't last forever.

But when Skye is suddenly standing in front of her reminding her that she's leaving with her foster parents tomorrow morning, Jemma feels like she's completely blindsided, like the whole thing has just come out of left field and hit her upside the head.

"It's okay." Skye assures her as Jemma just looks at her silently, feeling her heart sink down into her feet. "We still have today."

Jemma nods rather than protest the finite amount of time that happens to be contained in that statement. A day is hardly any time at all. But what good would it do to point that out? After all, her family is leaving two days after Skye's anyway so what would be the point in dragging her heels?

When Skye kisses her goodbye the following morning, Jemma threads their hands together and holds on tightly. "I'm going to miss you." She whispers against Skye's lips.

Skye smiles, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You can still text me, you know." She points out teasingly. "I thought you were supposed to be the genius here."

Of course, Jemma didn't forget about the joys of modern technology. "I know." She rolls her eyes. "But can I do this through text message?" She leans forward to kiss Skye to prove her point.

"No." Skye admits. "So we better make the most of it." She grins and kisses Jemma again.

Jemma can still taste that kiss on her lips long after Skye has disappeared.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Unintentionally, Jemma gets swept up into all of the real world things that exist outside of a beach vacation: adjusting to a move, unpacking, getting ready for the start of school in less than two weeks. She texts Skye as much as she can but between back-to-school shopping and going with her mother to speak to the principal of her new school about their advanced placement options but there are a handful of texts on both ends that don't get sent or answered. Jemma longs to get a little bit of summer back, to have Skye and a lazy day stretching in front of her.

But time marches ever forward and before she knows it, Jemma finds herself walking into her first class at her new school, receiving more than a few curious looks and blatant stares. She's never been the new kid before; it's definitely not something she would ever recommend.

In her Advanced Biology class, Jemma is paired with Bobbi Morse, who doesn't try to hide her obvious interest in her new partner. They don't exchange more than a handful of words until Jemma finishes up their "welcome back from summer vacation" lab experiment far quicker than the rest of the students in the class and Bobbi seems to decide that she's worth talking to.

"So you're pretty into this science stuff, huh?" Bobbi questions, her eyes on the stack of books at the edge of Jemma's side of the desk.

Joining her copy of Dr. Foster's book is one by Helen Cho and another about the research of Dr. Erskine. The assumption that she was going to be eating lunch by herself for the next few days definitely inspired her to come prepared.

Jemma shrugs, nodding. "Yes, I suppose. I find the advancements in the field to be particularly interesting, especially in terms of the discovery of the Einstein-Rosen Bridges and Dr. Cho's research involving the Cradle."

Bobbi grins at her, nodding. "Yeah, I thought so." She smiles and Jemma has no idea what she said that could cause a perfect stranger to look at her like that. "So I'm the president of the school's science club and you should totally join."

Jemma is more surprised by this invite than anything else. She hasn't even made it to lunch yet and already she's being drafted into clubs and possibly even making friends?

But Bobbi must interpret her silence surprise as doubt so she adds, "Come sit with us at lunch today, meet some of the other members. I really think you'd fit right in."

Well, Jemma is certainly not going to turn down an invitation to have a pre-made clique to hang out with at school.

As promised, Bobbi finds her in the cafeteria and walks her through the steps of going through the lunchroom and getting school issued food that isn't completely disgusting, like the fries that she insists Jemma load her tray with. She continues to talk as she leads Jemma through the cafeteria and toward a backdoor, which she pushes open with her hip and holds open for Jemma without missing a beat.

Apparently sitting outside is a pretty common thing among the upperclassmen; most of the tables are full with people jockeying for a place on the green mental benches, talking loudly and enjoying some stolen time in the sun. Bobbi directs Jemma toward a table toward the back corner over looking the football field and the bleachers. Jemma takes a set on the edge of the bench, taking in her surroundings. There's no one out on the football field at the moment but there are a handful of people gathered on the bleachers, doing more loitering than actually eating lunch, or so it would seem.

"Don't worry about them." Bobbi assures her, taking note of what has caught Jemma's attention. "They head over there 'for lunch' but most of them probably won't come back in to finish the rest of the school day." She shrugs, popping a fry into her mouth. "I don't know why they even bother coming at all."

"Not everyone can be the genius you are, Bob." Chimes in an approaching voice and Jemma looks over to see three guys coming over to join them. The guy smiles at Bobbi and tries to kiss her on the cheek but she gives him a look and he changes his mind. "Some of them are my mates."

Bobbi just continues to stare at him, unimpressed. "My point exactly." She replies. "Jemma, that's Hunter, who is not in the science club and that's Fitz and Mack." She points to each of them in turn and they both offer a sincere greeting before tackling the lunch on their trays.

Conversation seems to progress organically and even though most of the topics are about people or things Jemma has no involvement in, she somehow doesn't feel left out.

"So, Jemma," Fitz begins as he finishes a story about his break, "what did you do this summer?"

Jemma shrugs. "Nothing much. Went to the beach." But she can't stop the smile from spreading across her face, betraying her.

Immediately, Bobbi pounces on it. "Oh yeah? And what else happened there?" She wiggles her eyebrows, making Jemma laugh.

"Nothing!" She protests but it's obvious that she's lying. Jemma sighs, shaking her head. "I just…I met someone…I think I might have fallen in love with her…"

"Ooh, summer love, wonderful." Hunter leans over so he can see her past Bobbi. "Do tell. I like salacious gossip."

Jemma smiles apologetically. "Nothing too salacious to report, I'm afraid." She tells him. Which might be stretching the true a little bit but she's only just met them, after all; she's fine with keeping her summer exploits to herself for the time being.

"What was her name?" Bobbi questions with a casual shrug. "If you don't mind me asking."

That smile is back, unable to fight down despite her best efforts. "Skye." Jemma replies. "Skye Johnson."

Hunter suddenly makes a choking sound, nearly dropping his Coke can onto the table as he gasps for breath. "Skye Johnson?" He says when he finally remembers how to function like a normal person.

Mack shakes his head. "Calm down, Hunter." He says. "Could be a common name."

Jemma looks at them all suspiciously. "Why?"

"This Skye girl, she had dark hair? Bangs? Kinda snarky attitude that worked for her?" Hunter ignores him, looking at Jemma. "Foster kid?"

Jemma's suspicions only grow. "Do you know her?"

Hunter nods and Bobbi gives her an exasperated look. "Yeah, we know her." She says, tipping her head in the direction of the crowd gathered on the bleachers. "She hangs around with those guys, definitely thinks that she's too cool to be here with the rest of us."

Jemma looks over her shoulder, looking at the bleachers with renewed interest. She feels like she's only half-heard what Bobbi had to say, too preoccupied by the idea that the person she spent the majority of her summer falling head over heels for might not be gone forever. What are the odds? Jemma's sure that the statistics exist within the realm of possibilities but it seems almost impossible to believe that out of all the places that her father would be transferred to, it would be the same place with Skye.

That smile is back, blossoming from the thrill of excitement that she feels spreading through her chest. Skye. Here.

"Skye isn't the type of person that you want to hang around with." Bobbi interrupts her reverie, putting her hand on Jemma's shoulder and pulling her attention back. "Trust me. We've known her a lot longer than you have."

Hunter makes a noise of protest and Jemma gives Bobbi a dubious look. "She was wonderful this summer." She tells her. "Nice and kind and funny and…" She trails off before she can throw in adjectives that are a little too personal. "Perhaps now that we're here together we can-"

"She's a player." Bobbi interrupts before Jemma can continue. "I'm telling you, Jemma. You deserve better."

Jemma raises an eyebrow. "You hardly know me."

"But I know her." Bobbi shrugs.

Hunter furrows his brow. "She's not so bad." He says defensively. "She just has a habit of keeping everyone at a distance because-"

"Because that's the type of person she is." Bobbi interjects. "Total player. Am I right guys?" She looks over at Fitz and Mack, who do a lot of mumbling and shrugging and wisely seem to decide to stay out of the discussion.

Jemma sighs, looking back toward the bleachers. It's impossible to make out any specific features on the people gathered by the field but just the thought that Skye might be among them gives her a little jolt of excitement. But what Bobbi has said manages to lay heavy in her chest despite her best efforts. "She just…didn't seem like that at all."

"That's her personality." Bobbi says with a finite nod. "She's like a chameleon. She can change herself to fit whatever she thinks people expect from her, whatever she thinks will get her ahead. Or…whatever it is that she wants."

The meaning in Bobbi's tone is plain enough but Jemma chooses to ignore it. Instead, she plays through her memories of the summer, every perfect day spent there with Skye. But Bobbi is right, they know Skye far better than she does, but it still seems impossible to believe that what they say is true. Maybe it's a different Skye after all. It certainly sounds like it.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The rest of the day fills her mind up with plenty of things to distract her from running Skye through her head over and over again. There's new textbooks and first day assignments and teachers and students to know and learn. In spite of all these things, Skye is still back there somewhere, worrying about in the back of Jemma's mind, the curiosity eating away at her.

Jemma is surprised when Hunter appears beside her locker at the end of the day. She's trying to balance a stack of books, debating on what needs to come home and what should stay, but his hands are free and clear, making it easy for him to grab her elbow and tug. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?" Jemma questions, just barely having time to throw her books into her locker and slam it closed before Hunter is pulling her down the hall.

Hunter doesn't answer but his mischievous smile worries her a bit. Not that Jemma knows him well enough to know which facial expressions to avoid but she has a sinking feeling that she should be running in the other direction.

Of course, it all becomes pretty obvious when Hunter leads her in the direction of the back parking lot, right by the bleachers.

The group that Jemma assumes she saw earlier is still hanging around and she can smell the acrid stench of cigarette smoke as she gets closer. It makes her wrinkle her nose but it's a welcome distraction from the sudden nervousness that she feels spreading through her body. She feels a little bit like she might throw up, which is odd considering all the time that she spent with Skye and how just yesterday she would have given anything to see her again.

"Hey Skye!" Hunter calls out, looking incredibly pleased with himself. "I've got a surprise for you!"

In unison the group seems to turn in their direction and Jemma feels her heart jump into her throat when one of the faces looking back at her is Skye's. She's traded her bikini and fraying shorts for jeans and a tank top with a loose leather jacket hanging over her shoulders and there's no sign of the ponytail that she kept her hair up in at the beach. But it's still unmistakably Skye and Jemma feels a wave of excitement spread through her body.

It's impossible to tell who is more surprised in that moment: Skye or Jemma. Despite the fact that Jemma had known who she was about to see, it still strikes her as completely random and inconceivable that she would actually be face to face with Skye again.

"Jemma?" Skye speaks first, his eyes growing wider as she continues to take in the girl standing across from her. "What are you doing here?"

"I moved, remember?" Jemma says, torn between wanting to throw her arms around Skye and keep her distance until Skye's own response can become more readable. At the moment, Jemma can't figure out if Skye is actually happy to see her standing there.

Skye shrugs, giving her a little nod. "Yeah, I mean I remember you saying that you were moving but I didn't know you were coming here."

Still Skye's tone is almost inflectionless and her eyes, normally a dead-giveaway of how she was really feeling are expressionless. "I didn't know that you lived here either." Jemma points out. "Isn't it funny how those things seem to work out?" A little smile turns up the corner of her lips.

"Yeah," chimes in one of the guys standing on Skye's right, "like destiny."

The other guys snicker and Skye's brow furrows slightly. Jemma just glares at him because honestly how ridiculous.

"Yeah." Skye says finally, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

They stare at one another for a moment and all Jemma can remember is how it felt to kiss her for that first time under the boardwalk.

Skye's standoffish behavior starts to settle heavy over Jemma's shoulders and her heart lurches. Suddenly her throat is tight and, even more than hurt, she starts to feel embarrassed. Her smile fades and she takes a step back. "I…should go."

She waits a beat, hoping that Skye will say something that suggests that she even remembers Jemma at all. But Skye remains silent, her gaze locked with Jemma's.

"I've got to catch my bus." Jemma grumbles and turns around before she can gauge the reaction of the people around her.

Jemma only quickens her pace when she hears the guys with Skye start laughing again, hurrying away before she can make out their words. She hears Hunter calling after her but she ignores him too, too embarrassed to even think about facing him and explaining things. Or, even worse, about turning around and seeing pity on his features.

By the time the bus drops her off at the corner of her new street, Jemma has managed to push away most of the feelings of humiliation and confusion in an effort to rationalize everything. Obviously what happened between the two of them over the summer was exactly that: a summer fling. Maybe now…now they're just be nothing to one another and Jemma can write Skye down as a first love and a lesson learned.

It pains her to think about it like that but she has more important things to focus on.

*~*~*~*~*~*

A rustling outside her window pulls Jemma from an already restless sleep and she rolls over, switching on the lamp just to reassure herself that it's nothing but the bushes that ring the house. It's not and she nearly jumps out of her skin when she sees a figure there tapping on the window.

Jemma doesn't know whether to be relived or pissed when she realizes that the intruder is none other than Skye.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Jemma questions, pushing open the window and stepping back to allow Skye to scramble through. "You're lucky I didn't just call the police when I saw you out there."

Skye grins at her and it's so much like the smile that Jemma is used to seeing that she almost forgets their last encounter. "Yeah, lucky me." She shrugs. "Sorry."

Jemma glares, crossing her arms over her chest. "You could have just called." She retorts. "How did you even figure out where I lived?"

"It wasn't hard to figure that out, seeing as you guys are the only new family." Skye tells her frankly.

Jemma just continues to glare and Skye looks at her expectantly, like Jemma should be the first person talking right now. That only causes her scowl to deepen and she taps her foot impatiently.

Finally, the curiosity is too much. "What are you doing here?" Jemma snaps. "I was starting to think you didn't even remember me."

Skye looks sheepish, looking down at her feet. "Yeah, I…" She sighs, looking back at Jemma and brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I'm sorry. You just…took me by surprise. I didn't…I didn't know what to say."

Jemma keeps her face stoic, her eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion. "A hello might have been a good start." She informs her frostily. "You acted like you didn't even know me, Skye."

The regret that Jemma sees in Skye's face seems sincere and it's almost enough to loosen the tightness that she feels in her chest. "I know." She whispers. "I'm sorry, Jemma, I just…I didn't know what to do."

"Why?" Jemma has to remind herself to keep her voice at an even pitch so as not to draw the attention of her parents or brother. "It's not like I'm a stranger, Skye. Pretty far from it, in fact."

Skye steps toward her and Jemma remains where she's standing, keeping her arms crossed firmly over her chest. Even when Skye rests her hands against her upper arms, her touch warm and familiar.

"I'm sorry." Skye says softly once more and Jemma has no idea why the repetition of such a useless phrase is suddenly so effective. "Jemma…I never thought I was going to see you again and then seeing you standing there…I didn't know what to do. I just panicked. I'm not good with…this sort of thing."

Jemma just turns her head way, even though she thinks it would make more sense just to step away from her. But she's reluctant to do that; she's enjoying having Skye so close again.

"Do you have any idea how I felt?" Jemma questions softly.

Skye's forehead wrinkles slightly and she just nods. "A little."

Jemma looks back at her and Skye's face looks so open, so honest, that it makes it hard not to put her arms around Skye and pull her close. "I didn't know what to think." Jemma says instead. "I was talking to people about you…they told me that you were just a player and I didn't want to believe them until…"

Skye rolls her eyes, a dismissive gesture, like she can't be bothered with what other people say about her. "Jemma, I'm happy that you're back." She says, her eyes meeting Jemma's. "And that's the truth."

Jemma steps forward, putting her arms around Skye and resting her head against her shoulder. Skye doesn't hesitate, wrapping her arms around her waist and holding her close.

Maybe, Jemma thinks, it really can be this easy for things to go back to the way they were. They aren't at the beach anymore but maybe that doesn't matter.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Jemma finds herself looking forward to seeing Skye the following morning at school. Throughout dinner the night before, Jemma had been dreading that very occurrence, unsure of how she was supposed to act if they did run into each. But now…it's enough to put a smile on her face.

She doesn't actually see Skye until she comes sauntering into her economics class six minutes after the start of the period and Jemma is pretty sure that Bobbi's eyes are about to bug out of her head when Skye walks through the door. Even the teacher looks surprised, though she recovers quickly. "I didn't think you were planning on joining us this semester, Skye."

Skye shrugs, walking down the aisle toward an empty desk. "I just couldn't stay away, Ms. Hand." She looks over at Jemma and winks.

"And just where were you yesterday?" Hand persists.

Skye drops into an empty seat, dropping her textbook onto the table. "Busy."

The class laughs at this; obviously Skye's antics aren't something they're unfamiliar with. Jemma glances over at Bobbi, sitting in the row next to hers. Bobbi just shakes her head, still looking surprised. "I didn't even think she still came to class." She mutters under her breath.

Jemma looks over her shoulder toward Skye, who offers her a shy smile. Jemma just grins in return before turning to give her attention back to Ms. Hand. They are still in school, after all.

The rest of the week progresses in much the same way. It turns out that she and Skye also have history together, something that totally escaped Jemma's knowledge given the fact that Skye opted to skip the first day of classes. It's nice having Skye in two of her classes, even if they don't do much of anything except smile at each other in between the teachers' lectures and pass notes whenever they can. It's nice and Skye's very presence seems capable of causing her heart to beat funny in her chest.

Skye even joins Jemma and the others for lunch once, though most of the time she disappears completely, showing back up in time to waltz into history class as the tardy bell rings.

It isn't until the following week when the routine finally gets disrupted. Skye is walking with Jemma toward her locker when Grant Ward and a few of the other guys that Skye hangs around with join them in the hallway. Ward throws his arm around Skye's shoulders, a buddy-buddy gesture that earns him a look of annoyance.

"Skye, there you are." Ward smiles at her. "We haven't seen you in a while."

"That's because she's been going to classes now." Brock says from Ward's other side, giving Skye a smile. "Right? Your little girlfriend has to you attending class now."

Jemma ignores them, turning toward her locker to put in her combination. She has no idea why actually taking an interest in your education makes you the loser but she's long since given up trying to understand how teenagers work.

Skye leans against the locker beside Jemma's, giving her attention to Ward and the other guys. "What do you want?" She questions, making sure to sound incredibly bored and disinterested in the response.

"Come on." Ward gestures with his head down the hallway. "We were just about to head out to Brock's place."

Jemma's eyes flick toward Skye, who appears almost to be in the process of nodding her agreement to this plan. "Don't forget that we have a quiz in Ms. Hand's class." She says and even though she means for Skye to be the only one that hears her words, it's clear that she says it louder than she intends.

Brock and another guy look at each other, obviously finding this incredibly amusing. "You don't want to miss your test, Skye." He remarks.

Skye frowns, glancing from Ward to Jemma and then back again. "I could always-"

"Skye." Jemma says, surprised.

"Just forget about it." Ward gives Skye's shoulder a playful shove. "Good luck on your quiz."

The group continues on down the hall and Brock glances back at them, looking at Skye and rolling his eyes at her. Skye scowls at their backs, though Jemma isn't sure who, exactly, the scowl is meant for.

"Just forget about those guys." Jemma says, slamming her locker shut and giving Skye a smile. "We can always-"

"Those guys are my friends." Skye says shortly and the closed off expression from last week in the parking lot seems to have returned to her eyes.

Jemma frowns, taken aback. "Yes, I know." She doesn't know what else to say so she decides that it would probably be for the best just to keep her mouth shut.

Which seems just fine with Skye, who doesn't have a lot to say. About anything. For the rest of the day. Jemma tries not to let it bother her, tries not to read more into it than necessary. But still, there's a nagging worry in the back of her mind.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The following day, Skye doesn't show up for either economics or history class and she doesn't bother to answer any of the texts that Jemma sends her, inquiring to her whereabouts. At least Bobbi doesn't offer up any helpful comments like "I told you so" because Jemma doesn't think she's in the mood to deal with that. Thankfully, Bobbi doesn't act like anything is out of the ordinary at all and Jemma is grateful.

She doesn't see Skye again until Friday afternoon, when they run into each other almost by accident in the parking lot after school. The football team is playing their first game that night and it seems to be somewhat of a tradition for the students to gather around in the parking lot, reveling in team spirit and getting amped up for the approaching game. Bobbi and Fitz insist that she tag along with them, especially since she'd never attended a high school football game before. Not that Jemma understands why that's some sort of great loss. But rather than attempt to figure this out, she just agrees to go with them. Seems much easier that way.

Jemma is surprised to see that Skye is there with Ward and Brock and some of the others. They make eye contact and then Skye looks away without saying anything, like she doesn't know Jemma at all.

It's all so reminiscent of the parking lot scene from last week that it makes Jemma more frustrated than anything else. She steps toward Skye, narrowing her eyes, before she can convince herself just to ignore her right back. "I can't believe you." She says, shaking her head in disgust. "You're just going to act like we're perfect strangers?"

Skye doesn't say anything but some of her friends chuckle, though Jemma has the feeling it's mainly because she's making something of a spectacle of herself.

"I'm starting to think that everything I heard about you was true." Jemma continues, sparing a brief moment to glare daggers at Skye's friends. "You aren't the person that I met at the beach. I'm sorry that I'm not…not cool enough for you and your friends and I don't skip school just to hang out." She shakes her head. "I'm sorry if that's somehow surprising to you Skye, though I can't imagine why. _I've_ never lied about the type of person that I was."

Thankfully, this time when Jemma marches away the rest of her friends follow after her. She's even more grateful that they don't try to convince her to stay when she asks Mack for a ride home. Mack doesn't seem interested in making any sort of small talk, so Jemma just stares out the window on the way to her house, trying to figure out why she still feels so upset about everything.

Obviously the Skye she met over the summer is not the real version of Skye. It's harder than she wants it to be just to let it go.

*~*~*~*~*~*

There's a part of Jemma that expects Skye to show up at her window again, to scare the living daylights out of her and then offer some sort of half-assed apology that Jemma isn't sure that she wants to accept or not.

But she doesn't. Jemma tosses and turns throughout the night for nothing.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Jemma!" Her mother calls from the foyer, causing Jemma to look up from her homework. "There's somewhere here to see you!"

Dutifully, Jemma puts aside her work and traipses down the hallway. She's expecting to see Bobbi or Fitz or maybe even Hunter so it's a complete surprise to see Skye standing there on the welcome mat.

"Hey." Skye says, clearing her throat. "I thought…I'd use the front door this time."

Jemma doesn't bother to respond to that. "What do you want?"

Skye looks awkward still standing out there on the mat but Jemma doesn't allow herself to feel sorry for her. "I thought we could talk?"

For a minute, she thinks about ignoring her and going back to her homework. And maybe it makes her an idiot but Jemma can't bring herself to do that. So she just steps out into the front stoop, pulling the door shut behind her.

They head around to the backyard, sitting down on the bottom steps leading up to the deck attached to the back of the house. Skye hasn't said anything since Jemma stepped outside and Jemma doesn't really find this unusual anymore.

"Why did you come by, Skye?" Jemma questions, looking over at the girl sitting next to her. There isn't a lot of space on the stairs but they've somehow managed to carve out an inch or two to spare. For some reason that makes Jemma sadder than anything so far.

Skye doesn't answer right away, tapping her fingers against her knee. Jemma doesn't say anything, mostly because she doesn't want to push her but also because she's tired of being the one who always says something first.

When Skye looks up at her, she looks sad and a little bit worried. "Last night…nothing that you said is true. I don't care what my friends think about you."

Jemma's brow furrows. "Then what?" She questions impatiently. "What is going on with you, Skye?"

"Everyone has always had this idea about the type of person that I am. That I'm tough and that I don't care about anyone or that I don't care about anything." Skye shrugs. "My friends think that. The teachers think that. But you didn't think that…you thought there was…something more to me than all of that."

"That's a good thing, Skye." Jemma can't stop herself from putting her hand on Skye's knee and the distance between them vanishes just like that.

Skye nods, looking down at her hand. "I know." She says quietly. "But I'm not…I'm not used to that. To…letting someone know me like that." Cautiously, she looks back up at Jemma. "To letting someone get that close. Like you did, on the beach."

Jemma just shakes her head. "I don't understand." She sighs, suddenly exhausted with the runaround. "You say this stuff and then at school it's like…something totally different. Like you don't know me when your friends are around. I can't deal with that, Skye, I don't have time to play that game."

"I know." Skye nods and it's obviously that she wants to say something more so Jemma forces herself to bite her tongue. "I like you. A lot. When I realized that my friends could see that too…I started to panic."

Jemma narrows her eyes slightly. "Because you do care what they think."

Skye shakes her head. "No. Because…because it made me realize _how_ much I liked you. And that's dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

"It was different, over the summer. I knew that we were both going to go our separate ways in a few weeks and that sucked but it was fine because we didn't really have a choice. You weren't…we weren't leaving by choice." Skye clarifies. "I thought…when I realized that you were here and that we could have things back the way they were…I started thinking about you leaving…because everyone does…and-"

"Oh, Skye." Jemma says softly, reaching for her hand and giving it a squeeze. Maybe she should have thought harder, should have put all of this together by herself. After all, Skye never made her formative years a secret. "Don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourself?"

Skye smiles slightly, shrugging. "I guess." She admits. "It's easy to do."

Jemma nods, understanding. "I'm not going anywhere, Skye." She assures her. "Not unless you keep pushing me away like this. I'm tired of feeling like I don't matter to you when your friends are around."

"I know." Skye squeezes her hand, holding it tightly. "I'm sorry. I really don't care what they think about you, you know. I think you're perfect and wonderful and amazing just the way that you are." She assures her with a tentative smile. " _You're_ the one that I want, Jemma."

Jemma leans in and kisses her there because the feeling is mutual and because she's tired of having been around Skye for nearly two weeks without kissing her. They seem to go so well together and Jemma thinks that if she tried, she could easily pretend like she was back at the beach. But she doesn't want to because this is perfect too.

They finally move away and Skye has a sincere, relieved smile on her face. "You know, one of the reasons I was so surprised to see you again was because I couldn't believe that I was really that lucky."

Jemma rolls her eyes and nudges her in the side. "You don't have to overdo it, you know." She teases. "I've already forgiven you."

Skye smirks. "Just being honest." She tells Jemma, kissing her again.

The honesty –and the kissing- is quiet refreshing.

*~*~*~*~*~*

At school on Monday, Jemma is at her locker when she sees Skye heading down the hallway with Ward and Brock and the rest of her delinquent friends in tow. Including Hunter and Jemma tries not to feel too bad about lumping him in with the rest of the group.

Skye smiles at her and breaks off from her friends, pulling Jemma in for a kiss. Jemma feels her face get hot and she does her best to ignore the whistling and teasing coming from the rest of the guys. She's not sure that she needed such a public display but she's not exactly going to complain about the fact that Skye has suddenly made it hard for her to catch her breath.

"I'll see you in econ, okay?" Skye says and Jemma just nods, still feeling a little bit dizzy from the kiss.

Brock starts to tease Skye about both the kiss and her intentions to attend class but she just rolls her eyes at him, hitting him in the shoulder as they continue down the hallway. She looks over her shoulder to smile at Jemma as she rounds the corner and disappears from sight.

Jemma smiles to herself, shaking her head as she continues to get her stuff ready for her next several classes. She has a feeling that it's going to be impossible to wipe the grin off her face for the next several hours. And she's perfectly fine with that.


End file.
